1998 UEFA Cup Final

Match programme cover
Event	1997–98 UEFA Cup
Lazio Inter Milan 0 3
Date	6 May 1998
Venue	Parc des Princes, Paris
Man of the Match	Ronaldo (Inter Milan)[1]
Referee	Antonio López Nieto (Spain)
Attendance	44,412[2]
← 1997 1999 →

The 1998 UEFA Cup final was a football match played at Parc des Princes in Paris, France on 6 May 1998 as the conclusion to the 1997–98 UEFA Cup. It was the first time that the UEFA Cup final was played as a single leg at a neutral venue.

The match was played between two Italian teams – Lazio and Inter Milan. Inter won the match 3–0 to win the UEFA Cup for the third time – a joint record with Juventus at the time.

Inter Milan were one of the most successful Italian football teams. They had won the European Cup twice in 1964 and 1965 and the UEFA Cup twice in 1991 and 1994.^[3][4]

Lazio had never played in a European final before. Their previous best run was to the quarter-finals of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup.^[3][4][5]

Since the inaugural edition in 1971–72, the UEFA Cup final had been played over two legs on a home and away basis. From the 1997–98 season, the final would be played as a single leg at a neutral venue.^[3]

Lazio				Round	Inter Milan
Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg		Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg
Vitória de Guimarães	6–1	4–0 (A)	2–1 (H)	First round	Neuchâtel Xamax	4–0	2–0 (H)	2–0 (A)
Rotor Volgograd	3–0	0–0 (A)	3–0 (H)	Second round	Lyon	4–3	1–2 (H)	3–1 (A)
Rapid Wien	3–0	2–0 (A)	1–0 (H)	Third round	RC Strasbourg	3–2	0–2 (A)	3–0 (H)
Auxerre	3–2	1–0 (H)	2–2 (A)	Quarter-finals	Schalke 04	2–1 (a.e.t.)	1–0 (H)	1–1 (a.e.t.) (A)
Atlético Madrid	1–0	1–0 (A)	0–0 (H)	Semi-finals	Spartak Moscow	4–2	2–1 (H)	2–1 (A)

Lazio qualified for the 1997–98 UEFA Cup by finishing fourth in the 1996–97 Serie A.^[6]

In the first round, Lazio faced Portuguese side Vitória de Guimarães. They won 4–0 in the first leg at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães on 16 September 1997 and 2–1 in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome two weeks later to progress 6–1 on aggregate.^[7]

Lazio faced Russian side Rotor Volgograd in the second round. After a 0–0 draw in the first leg at the Central Stadium in Volgograd on 21 October 1997, Lazio progressed with a 3–0 win (3–0 on aggregate) in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks later.^[7]

In round three, Lazio faced Austrian side Rapid Wien. Lazio won the first leg 2–0 at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna on 25 November 1997 and progressed to the quarter-finals 3–0 on aggregate after winning the second leg 1–0 at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks later.^[7]

French club AJ Auxerre were Lazio's opponents in the quarter-finals. After winning the first leg 1–0 at the Stadio Olimpico on 3 March 1998, Lazio advanced to the semi-finals following a 2–2 draw (3–2 on aggregate) in the second leg at the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps in Auxerre two weeks later.^[7]

Lazio faced Atlético Madrid of Spain in the semi-finals. Lazio won the first leg 1–0 at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid on 31 March 1998 and progressed to the final after a goalless draw (1–0 on aggregate) in the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks later.^[7]

Inter Milan qualified for the 1997–98 UEFA Cup by finishing third in the 1996–97 Serie A.^[6]

Neuchâtel Xamax of Switzerland were Inter Milan's opponents in the first round. Inter Milan won the first leg at the San Siro in Milan 2–0 on 16 September 1997 before winning the second leg at the Stade de la Maladière in Neuchâtel two weeks later by the same scoreline (4–0 on aggregate).^[7]

In the second round, Inter Milan faced French club Olympique Lyonnais. After losing the first leg 2–1 at the San Siro on 21 October 1997, Inter Milan came back to win the second leg 3–1 at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon two weeks later to progress 4–3 on aggregate.^[7]

They would return to France in the third round to play Strasbourg. Again, Inter Milan lost the first leg – 2–0 at the Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg on 25 November 1997 – and again they came back to win the second leg at the San Siro 3–0 (3–2 on aggregate) two weeks later to progress to the quarter-finals.^[7]

In the quarter-finals, Inter Milan faced German club Schalke 04. After winning the first leg 1–0 at the San Siro on 3 March 1998, the second leg at Parkstadion in Gelsenkirchen two weeks later went to extra time after finishing 1–0 to Schalke 04 (1–1 on aggregate) in 90 minutes. Inter Milan scored the only goal of extra time to progress to the semi-finals 2–1 on aggregate.^[7]

Russian side Spartak Moscow were Inter Milan's opponents in the semi-finals. After winning the first leg at the San Siro 2–1 on 31 March 1998, Inter Milan won the second leg at the Central Dynamo Stadium in Moscow two weeks later by the same scoreline (4–2 on aggregate) to reach the final.^[7]

6 May 1998

20:45 CEST

Lazio	0–3	Inter Milan
	Report	Zamorano 5' Zanetti 60' Ronaldo 70'

Parc des Princes, Paris

Attendance: 44,412^[2]

Referee: Antonio López Nieto (Spain)

Lazio

Inter Milan

GK 1 Luca Marchegiani RB 20 Alessandro Grandoni  55' CB 13 Alessandro Nesta CB 2 Paolo Negro  70' LB 5 Giuseppe Favalli RM 14 Diego Fuser (c) CM 23 Giorgio Venturin  49' CM 21 Vladimir Jugović  59' LM 18 Pavel Nedvěd CF 9 Pierluigi Casiraghi CF 10 Roberto Mancini Substitutes: GK 22 Marco Ballotta DF 3 Giovanni Lopez DF 17 Guerino Gottardi  55' MF 4 Dario Marcolin MF 25 Matías Almeyda  63'  88'  49' FW 7 Roberto Rambaudi Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson

GK 1 Gianluca Pagliuca (c) SW 7 Salvatore Fresi  18' RB 33 Francesco Colonnese CB 16 Taribo West  82' LB 4 Javier Zanetti  63' RM 8 Aron Winter  69' CM 13 Zé Elias LM 14 Diego Simeone AM 6 Youri Djorkaeff  69' CF 9 Iván Zamorano  74' CF 10 Ronaldo  74' Substitutes: GK 12 Andrea Mazzantini DF 5 Fabio Galante DF 24 Luigi Sartor  74' MF 15 Benoît Cauet  69' MF 17 Francesco Moriero  69' FW 11 Nwankwo Kanu FW 20 Álvaro Recoba Manager: Luigi Simoni

• 1997–98 UEFA Cup
• Inter Milan in European football
• Italian football clubs in international competitions
• S.S. Lazio in European football